almost two and a half years ago. nasa posted these images online for anyone to develop, in this case -- took it upon himself to develop the final images you see here. nasa says, in the future, it will have more opportunities for photos of, lightning plus get near jupiter's rings to learn more about their origin, and their composition. that is it for, us news continues on cnn prime time with kaitlan collins starts now. see you tomorrow. >> tonight, five people are missing out, see and that is the best-case scenario. the worst is that they are lost. 13,000 feet below the ocean's surface. south of newfoundland, canada, either way assuming the submersible remains intact, and assuming they are still alive, the crew and its passengers aboard the kind tiny ocean gate titan are sealed inside, with limited oxygen supply that is

dwindling. as of -- again, even assuming the very best, their trip to the titanic could easily become its own disaster. tonight, cnn's jason carroll is monitoring the search effort, and -- we hope -- what is the latest you have been seeing? >> well, caitlin, as i'm sure you have, heard the biggest challenge facing search and rescue at this, moment, and since this rescue operation at the end is, coming it is really time and time at this point not just on their side. at this point, less than 35 hours left of oxygen, and when you add to that is the time it is going to take so many more of these additional resources, and assets to this part of the atlantic ocean, which is a very, remote far from any point where they can readily access these types of assets. the coast guard announced a little earlier today, caitlin,

that what they have been able to do today is bring in one of these so-called remote operated vehicles, with a camera on board, that can look into certain parts below the surface, they deploy that particular vehicle in the area in the last part of the ocean, where the submersible was seen. more equipment is honest, way but again, it is going to take time to get there. in fact, earlier today, when the coast guard was holding its briefing, i asked the coast guard, captain i said what if everything had lined up? what if you had the proper resources above the surface, you had located the submersible, below the surface, with 35 hours be enough, even in those circumstances to overt a rescue operation, a successful one. the captains, that it was a difficult question, and unable to answer, it not at this time. but again, they are giving it all their best effort. more assets coming into the area, coming from places like new york, more assets coming from canada as well.

the navy also announced, this was interesting, they are bringing in a salvage system, a type of equipment which is able to work in deep waters, can lift objects as heavy as 60,000 pounds of course. we somerset weighing about 23,000 pounds. so, the effort is underway, but it is the timing that is really working against search and rescue teams. kaitlan? >> yes, just a number of logistical challenges here is, long but what about the people on, board chasten, because obviously that is the most important part here. the fact that there are -- on the titan, what do we know about them? >> five live as you indicated, five people on board. the ceo of oceangate expeditions, he is the one piloting the submersible. also, you had british pakistani businessman -- and his 19-year-old son on board. paul --

a french national, this is someone who had plenty of experience heading down to the titanic, he had done it several times in the past. also on board, hey michelle harding, a british billionaire. he is a passenger on board, an adventure, he had been on the blue origin spacecraft in 2022. just before this particular expedition, he had texted a friend of his, and said how excited he was to go on this particular expedition. he said he was very excited about, weather permitting, his friend had said, he is the type of person that could always remain calm in a situation like this. he's going to have to rely on that now. kaitlan? >> absolutely. thinking of all their families tonight, jason carroll, thank you. this vessel has had troubled history, according to the new york times, the paper obtained in ceo, we

should note is one of the five who is missing tonight. in it, they want they had, quote, unanimous concern about ocean gates development of the titan, and what that looked like. according to the times, the group's chairman said the court -- called him after reading the, letter pulled him industry regulations were stifling innovation. anytime story also says, a spokesperson for ocean gate to declined to comment on that letter. 2018 is one cnn's gabe cohen, any reporter at seattle station -- had a chance to tore a submersible, just like the one that is missing tonight. while it was out of the, water -- firsthand what the missing five are now facing. he joins us tonight from washington. gabe, what more can you tell us about this warning to this letter? essentially, what they seem to be saying as they had these concerns, there could be catastrophic consequences for the way this was put together, i think the question, is was something like what is happening right now something they were worried about?

>> and it does seem to be the concern they were raising. more than three dozen specialists like oceanographers, tv explores, all of them signed this letter warning about what they described as potentially catastrophic problems with the titan, then sent it to ocean gate ceo according to this new york times report. the group is part of the manned underwater vehicles committee at the marine technology society. they expressed concern over what they refer to us, the company's experimental approach to the vessel. the titan. and it's like an expedition, saying it could have, quote, negative outcomes for minor to catastrophic that would have serious consequences for everyone in the industry. and, the letter specifically raises concerns about ocean gates compliance, or lack thereof with maritime risk assessment certification, known as the and v geo. they write, quote, your marketing material advertises that the titan design will meet

or exceed the the and v geo safety standards, and yet does not appear that wishing it has the intention of following -- your representation is that minimum misleading to the public, and reaches an industry wide code of conduct that all endeavor to uphold. they wanted oceangate, effectively, to follow the same standards as other vessels, especially vessels that are carrying passengers, but of course this new york times report indicates that did not happen. cnn has reached out to ocean gate about the slaughter, but so far there has been no response. >> there was a 2019 blog post from the company where they seem to be adjusting why their vessel was not accredited with one of those organizations, seeming to explain that they believed the level of innovation they could not keep up with it. is that the entire explanation? >> that is a big chunk of it. basically, in 2019, the vessel

is not cost largely because it would slow innovation. they said they have used those standards as a benchmark for at least one of their vessels in the past, but as they write, quote, by itself, costing is not sufficient to ensure safety. in part, this is because classed-ing those not properly assess the operational factors that are vital for ensuring a safe dive, and because costing assessments are done annually at, best and to not ensure that the operator follows procedures or processes that are the key to conducting safe dive operations. so, clearly, they did not think those standards were necessary in order to have a safe expedition. >> gabe cohen, thank you. joining us now, oceanographer and deepwater search expert -- he co-led an expedition to create the -- comprehensive map of the titanic. thank you for joining us tonight,, david at one pm, today we learned that the crew had about 40 hours appreciable

oxygen left. that means that right now, it is closer to 32 hours based on those assessments from the coast guard. obviously, the list of logistical challenges here is, long but what is the biggest obstacle in your view they are facing? >> well, i'm going to take a step in a different direction, and say in my mind, the biggest obstacle has been created by attracting this -- rather than focusing on a couple of groups that have the capabilities to do what needs to be done. there are several companies, several groups that have all the capabilities that are needed to locate and recover that submarine. and, i just don't know waiting for this -- to arrive, i've seen this with air france 447, i've seen this happen with malaysian air three 70, and also to some extent with the gulf oil spill. it is thought, it is just too complicated, the logistical stuff becomes its own problem. so, it just frustrates, me because one of my very good

friends is on that boat -- and, for the sake of the other four people, and their loved ones, i would like to see this come to a conclusion pretty quickly. i'm not sure this is the best way to do it. >> and i know he is your friend, and i want to talk about him in a moment as well, because i know how closely the two of you worked. when you say you are concerned about sending too much of an armada, not doing enough, is that the u.s. coast guard? who should be responsible given the dwindling time here and making sure that this is targeted and specific response. control. lawn mowed, gasquet, one way to do it is to easily do one, maybe two. the other way is to invite 40 people to come over, because it seems like that's the thing to do, where they've got different lawnmowers and different speeds. you, know you have somebody who really has control of that entire operation.

and i don't know if anyone can do that. so, i understand the coast guard, sure, someone has to be in that level. but i don't see there is a different way to approach it and having, you know, more does not mean in my mind. in this case, time is running out. some these assets won't even be on-site by the time the time runs out. and i just get more frustrated by saying this, again, the search itself becomes its own nightmare. and in the meantime, there's five lives at stake, and the loved ones, waiting for some answers. >> yeah, i understand that frustration, of course. do you think they're wasting time right now, basically? >> yeah. well, i mean she's not sure some stuff is going on. but what air france, for instance, there was a very similar search in the beginning for air france, the first year, where every ship was thrown at it with some marines and robots and whatnot.

and it became a logistical nightmare at some point. i thought you have to do a little bit more thinking upfront than the first few hours, there ought to be a protocol about what you do when a submarine is lost beneath the sea, and follow that protocol. and i don't think it means getting everyone you can choose a site. i just think there's other things you could be doing. i don't know, maybe they're happening and i don't know about it. i don't know. and you know, i'm living off rumors the same way most people are. and many of them have turned out to be incorrect, wrong rumors. >> with the timing of how much oxygen they have, also, there is a concern, i believe, about hypothermia and what's happening on their electronics, and if they can stay warm. even if the rescuers were able to locate the titan right now, what would it take to retrieve it? whether be enough time to do so before those 32 hours or so ran out? >> yeah, you know, in my mind, there have to be, you'd have to make it happen.

the first part, of course, is to find it. and that's number one. but assess the situation quickly, and you have to hope against hope, you have to pray. and the ocean is full of surprises. there is something that you think would work, and they don't. and other things that seem impossible become possible. if ph nargeolet was sitting here with me like he normally does, he would say this is what we need to do. sit down together in a small room, figueroa needs to be done, and then let's make it happen. >> you mention your friend ph, i know he's been on more than 35 dives to the titanic so far. what can you say about his vast experience that he has here taking this precise trip that he went on right now? >> yeah, he's just an amazing person. i mean, i call him papa, just because he's a bit older than i am. [laughter] but full of wisdom, and as

comfortable on board the deck of a ship in a hurricane as he is sitting in a parisian café. so, he's just got a nature about him that's very easygoing. and like i said, wisdom, he's got experience. in terms of titanic, no one knows the ship better then p.h. nargeolet, not just the ship, but also the environment of titanic, what the visibility might look like, where the currents might come from. if you wanted to go safely to the titanic, you go with p.h. nargeolet. >> dave it, we are thinking of p.h., and everybody else who is on board tonight. thank you for your expertise. >> thank you, caitlin. >> up next for us tonight, the plea agreement that hunter biden took from federal authorities today. the claims that many republican lawmakers have made about it being, quote, a sweetheart deal, and what the facts of it truly are. later, new cnn polling, what it reveals about the state of the former president's support since his indictment and

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white house put out a statement, saying, quote, the president and first lady loved their son and support him as he continues to build his life. we will have no further comment. for president trump, meanwhile, reacting to the deal on his own social network, think a sweetheart deal for hunter and joe as they continue their quest to get trump. and he's not alone in that criticism today among republicans. cnn's evan perez joins us now with more that. evan, first, let's talk about this plea deal and what you can tell us as this investigation had been going on for so many years. how did they come to this agreement today? >> yeah, this is five years in the making, kaitlan. and the bottom line is prosecutors are expected to recommend no prison time, no prison time for a hunter biden as a result of this plea deal in which he is pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts for failing to file taxes on time in 2017 and 2018.

there is a separate agreement for this gun charge, this is for him purchasing a firearm during a time that he has spoken publicly about his addiction to drugs. so, he should not have been able to buy that fire arm. he lied on the federal form when he purchased it. under this deal, if he completes the terms that the court will assign to him, he gets it expunged. it goes away at the end of this. so, those are the terms of the deal. we do believe this is a deal that certainly was weeks and months in negotiations in the making, kaitlan. >> yeah, and i imagine, we saw from republicans responding, almost immediately after this was reported, from these court filings that the doj, saying essentially that they believe this was an unfair deal that was cut because he is the president son. what else were they saying, evan? >> yeah, this is just a preview

of what you're gonna hear from republicans, who believe there is a lot more here to investigate involving the president's son, and also members of the family. here's just a sample of what they're saying today. >> he continues to show a two tier system in america. if you are the presidents leading political opponent, doj clearly tries to put you in jail, and prison. if you have the president's son, you get a sweetheart deal. >> i wonder if people that have been investigating the bidens knew about the shell companies, if they knew about the money laundering, and if they knew about the money wires. i think the u.s. attorney will be invited to testify to some committee. >> the department of justice offered mr. hunter biden a really good deal. i think the american people are still curious about where the real money came from, and what he did for it.

>> and kaitlan, look, the fbi and the irs spent years investigating many new things you just heard, some of the lawmakers mentioned, including allegations of money laundering, allegations that -- lobbying, business dealings in ukraine and china. and this is where they ended up. >> yeah, and that was when there was a trump appointed attorney leading the justice department. trump was in office. we'll get that in a moment. evan perez, thank you. joining us now, conservative lawyer in washington post contributing columnist george conway. you heard whether problems were saying immediately. do you think there's any outcome of this that would've satisfied congressional republicans? >> no, absolutely not. if they had brought a rico charge against hunter biden, they would be complaining what took you so long. it's purely performative, and it's purely reflexive. it's shown by the fact that when donald trump's indictment

came down, they did not bother to read it to criticize it. and here, it's just, they were omitting, ignoring the fact that this investigation was conducted by a trump appointee, a republican u.s. attorney, who is allowed to stay on and told you need to follow up on this, you need to finish this, and we're not going to interfere with you. and i cannot imagine after a five year investment from the doj, the u.s. attorney's office, which actually had to bring in people from other states to make sure that there is no home state favoritism here in delaware, the fact is that this u.s. attorney, invested five years in this. and i can't imagine he wouldn't have brought a bigger charge if there wasn't one warranted. >> you mention that attorney, david weiss, and he said in a letter to jim jordan that was centrist what two weeks ago, i want to make clear that as the attorney general has stated, i have been granted ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and

whether to file charges. but republicans are downplaying that he was the one to this investigation. >> right, they're downplaying that because they want to push this narrative of to tear justice system. and they really don't -- if hunter biden, if, let's say, the former presidents son had been charged, or the former president has been investigated for all sorts attacks issues, he's paid minimal amounts of taxes over a number of years. and these same republicans are the ones who basically say that's a witch hunt. and they refused to look at that, and they're the same people who basically who basically want to cut irs funding. at the same time, if the son of a president, former president, like donald junior or somebody, suppose -- i'm not saying he has some kind of drug problem or anything like that, but if he were to have done the same thing, they would be marching in the streets complaining that the second amendment rights were violated. >> the one thing we do know is republicans still have control of the house. james comer is still the

chairman of the house oversight committee. today he was saying we're not going to rest until the full extent of their investigations into the biden family are done, even though they haven't uncovered any wrongdoing for the president. but james comer did list a variety of crimes and allegations, talk about wire fraud, money laundering, racketeering. evan noted that this investigation is going on for five years. is there any way the justice from what i found any credible evidence of that, but only gone forward with what they did? >> it's just inconceivable, just inconceivable. and if the justice department, main justice had done anything to try to interfere with this investigation in delaware, i cannot imagine that there would've been criticism that leaked out, as we've seen in other cases. so, i think that it's just, you know, it's just political opportunity is -- political opportunism. it's false equivalence, all the things we've seen our province when it relates to doing what they can to protect donald trump. >> george conway, thank you.

and coming up, did -- speaking of his investigations, donald trump make -- that could aid the special case against him? we have details ahead.

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>> the federal indictment of

former president trump now has a trial date, just tentatively, august 14th. prosecutors may have some fresh evidence to present as well. fox news aired an interview on monday with the former president that was conducted after trump was arraigned in miami last week. but in this interview, the former president makes some seemingly frank admissions about his long tug of war battle with the national archives, and subsequently, the justice department, over the sensitive documents that are at the center of the special counsel's indictment. >> asked for -- it >> i said, no. and then we were talking. >> and then they said they went to doj to subpoena you -- >> which they've never done before. >> right. why not just hand them over and then? >> because i had the boxes, i want to go through the boxes and get all my personal things out. i don't want to hand that over coronary yet. and i was very busy, as you

sort of. >> but according to the indictment, unitel this aid to move to other locations after telling your law is your fully comply with the subpoena, when you hadn't. >> before i send boxes over, i have to take all of my things out. these boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things, golf shirts, clothing, pants, shoes. there were many things. -- >> i -- iran warm-up? >> now that i know, of not that i know of. >> after that interview aired, one of the former presidents challengers, former new jersey governor chris christie, also a former federal prosecutor, said he believes it wasn't had mission. >> it appears to me last night, as a former prosecutor, that he admitted obstruction of justice on the air last night, to bret baier. i can tell you this. his lawyers this morning are jumping out of whatever window they are near. >> i'm joined now by cnn political analyst astead herndon, a national political reporter for the new york times, and cnn legal analyst elliott

williams, who i should note, former deputy assistant attorney general. elliott, when you hear comments like that, do you agree with chris christie, that trump's attorneys should be jumping out of windows because he's essentially admitting to obstructing justice? >> they really, should, kaitlan. and even if he didn't admit to the offense, he's providing evidence to the prosecution. to be clear, what the former president just admitted on air was that number one, he was aware there is an investigation into him. number two, he was aware that was possessing documents, and number three, that he was trying to hold on to those documents as a way of getting in the way on the investigation. now, if that's not an admission of obstruction of justice, i don't quite know what is. at a minimum, it's bad for the former president. this is really my defense attorneys just don't want their clients talking on the record ever once they've been charged with crimes. >> yeah, but we know that trump is someone who has often thought that he can kind of

talk himself out of anything. astead, you recently spent time in iowa speaking to voters about this. and obviously, we will see how the legal aspect of this plays out. we don't know if the trial will be an august. but what did voters see? what were they saying about? this >> we're specifically focus on evangelical voters, the group that is really important about when we think about the iowa republican electorate. and what we saw was basically two camps, if you are someone who is open to an alternative, someone who's already thinking about looking at the trump others in the race this, only made you more willing to do that. we talk to other people who said even though they dismissed the charges, kind of federal weaponization, not really think what the truth or fiction of the charges, that this was another instance of drama coming from donald trump, and another reason to look back instead of looking forward. we heard that over and over. you also heard a kind of big concern of people really say that this was a reason to rally around him, because they feel he is someone who's been targeted. i think it's important actually note the former group who is looking at alternatives was not ruling out donald trump, right, they were saying that this made

them want to be curious about someone like governor desantis, be curious but others. but they went saying it was a reason to punish or rule donald trump out. so, i think that's an important distinction, because it means he could certainly make up ground at some of the people he's lost. because we see things like that, like that cnn polling today that shows a softening of trump's support that is not mean it's fatal for him the republican party. >> did even one person you spoke with seem concerned about the indictment and then rain mint and the allegations? >> no one we talked it was a self-identified republicans worried about donald trump, the facts of it, the national security aspect of it this is a group that's been prime to see this as a real thing to dismiss. and more so than that, a reason to really dig into their support. an attack on trump, for a lot of these people, was an attack on their own political identity. and they would not allow him to really see this from a fact perspective. most people dismiss this straight off. >> elliott, when you look at this, and compared to that, obviously there's a potential this could be playing out as this trial is going on. we heard today that there was

an initial date for this that is in mid august. it does not seem likely from anyone that i've spoken to that they think that is a real date, when this is going to happen. but i wonder if you think that there is a real possibility of how trump plays this? because i heard a concern from someone today that there's a possibility trump could appeal some points of it up to the 11th circuit, which means the trial will be delayed until the 11th circuit would make decisions on some of those appeals. is that something that you can see playing out here? >> here's the thing, kaitlan. even under the best of circumstances, this would have been a trial that would've taken a while, a case that would've taken a while to get to trial anyway. whenever you're dealing with classified documents, are sensitive documents, or defense information in a criminal trial, you're going to have to litigate, frankly, sometimes weeks or months litigating how you present that information, number one of the defendant themselves, but also to a jury who are putting it in a public open court. this is incredibly sensitive information. and the defendant has any --

as right, as any criminal defendant would, to an open and speedy public trial. but that means when there's sensitive information out there, you have to put it out in the open, they've to litigate that. so, even under the best of circumstances, it'll take a little while to get their. whether that's delayed on the part of the former president or simply just the realities of complicated litigation, this could take a minute to -- we know well the former presidents history of delaying and stalling tactics. and really, it falls to the court and the prosecutors to call attention to that and nip it in the but if it does happen. it's more just a question of wait and see how legitimate the finals he makes in the pleadings he makes our. >> and of course, judge cannon is gonna have a lot of leeway on. that will see what he decides. astead herndon, elliott williams, thank you both. coming, up more of what a stand was referring to there that is backed up by new cnn polling, as president trump in the past has proven impervious to scandals, but the question is,

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>> a new cnn poll suggesting

that special counsel jack smith indictment is turning some republican voters against former president trump, or at least softening a bit of support. of course, to be clear, the former president does still lead the republican field for president at this time, but that support has dropped about six points from 53% just a month ago to 47%. that drop is just outside of the pools margin of error, i should note, but it is the biggest swing it since may of any of the major candidates, as you can see. favorability among republican and republican-leaning voters is also down for the former president, from 77% in may two 67% now. those who view him unfavourably have increased from nine points to 27%. the new cnn poll also found that among all americans, not just republicans or republican-leaning voters, 61% approve of the decision to indict the former president. i'm joined now tonight by cnn's chief national affairs correspondent, jeff zeleny, who is in iowa, cnn senior

political commentator scott jennings, who is a former special assistant to president george w. bush, and sarah matthews, a former deputy press secretary for the trump administration and 2020 spokesman for his campaign. sarah, i think when you look at these polls tonight, the answer on whether or not this latest indictment and arraignment hurts him is kind of a maybe. >> yeah, i think that it's more than probably just the indictment and folks being outraged about it, i do think this is a really strong case against him. obviously, others in the republican party think that it's politically motivated. but i think this latest indictment just serves as a further reminder of how much trauma and baggage comes along with a donald trump candidacy. >> yeah, i mean, the questions of course of just how many there already are against, damon could there be more indictments to come. scott, this poll though is also suggesting that trump lost support from republican-leaning independents and members of his own party. how much of that is a concern for him, given how crucial they are for him to be successful going forward them? >> well, independents in

general are a huge problem for donald trump. in fact, i was talking with some people in a rival campaign earlier tonight, the desantis campaign. they're going to be touting some point -- some polling that they're showing that shows independents souring on trump as it relates him taking on joe biden. they're gonna be talking about purple states like arizona, pennsylvania, and georgia showing independents going away from trump, and making it harder to beat joe biden. so, this is a big issue. the hardest core supporters may think it's politically, motivated and may cause them to double down. but in the end of the day, all republicans have to answer themselves is gonna win a national election? we haven't won a national popular vote since 2004? do we think these charges make it more or less likely that we could win a national election? the answer is pretty obvious? >> yeah, it's not just going through the primary. jeff, just 12% in the gop say that and responding to this indictment, that other republican candidates should focus on publicly condemning trump's alleged actions. 42% say they should do more to publicly condemn them the

government and how they're prosecuting trump here. you are in iowa. what are voters saying tonight? >> well, kaitlan, there is no doubt there is an opening for another candidate. but as our poll is showing that there's not one single candidate who is the beneficiary of this softening support. and the softening support is very real. we've been hearing this from voters, really, with every passing month they've been willing to say i'm just not sure i want to go down this road again. they don't know the specifics of the indictment. they're not time of the weaponization necessarily of the justice department. but they just are retiring of some of the endless trauma. here's a snapshot of what we found over the last few days here in iowa. >> there's some fatigue that sitting in, do you think? >> yeah i, do you think is a. little i wonder if people will say that a lot a lot. but i think people get tired of the constant stress or chaos that comes with some of the issues with the former president.

so, yeah, again, i think there is something there. but somebody has to fill that void, and nobody is doing it yet. but there's a possibility that, again, that opening is there. >> so, the opening is, there but again, no one directly filling that void. we spent some time with isa hutchinson, the former arkansas governor who's really been critiquing the former president the loudest. he's been calling for him to drop out of the race. but that's not likely to happen. it's a very lonely road for, him in a bit of mist reaction at that title level. but we talk to republican officials and voters here, this is something that is going to take a while. this poll is a snapshot in time, but time is what this is likely to take. a few people say what about a second indictment or third indictment and a fourth indictment? so, this is very much a moving target here. and the caucuses are not in for six or seven months, so, some people may likely wait until that is the exactly what the health of trump's. >> yeah, and polls can change. and sarah, when it comes to the criticism that jeff was just

referencing there from people like asa hutchison and chris christie, they're kind on their own. and this poll found that a 54% of republican republican-leaning voters say his conduct doesn't matter as much them as effective as he is an office. >> i think that's a fair thing, because obviously you want a president who's going to be effective. and trump did have a lot of accomplishments that people can be proud of. but i don't think trump, the campaign that he ran in 2016, is the same that he is now running in 2024. i'm 2016, he was kind of this larger than life candidate who is running on this vision for america that was different than anything else we had heard of from any other politician, because he wasn't a politician. but now, looking at the race that he's running in 2024, it seems to solely focused on himself. and he's, you know, talk about his past grievances and is going to entirely focus on his legal battles, and it's gonna be hard for him to articulate what his vision now is for the

american people, because he's so caught up in his own legal troubles. >> and scott, i think what stuck out the most of this entire poll cars looking at this morning when it come out, is that trump dropped six points, as we just noted, they're in one month, and this poll was entirely conducted, completed after the arraignment. but desantis did not gain at all on this poll. he stayed at 26%. trump was asked about his attacks on desantis tonight, this is what he said some. >> do you see him as the biggest threat? >> he is right now, yeah. i mean, at some point he could be replaced. the way he's going right now, he's dropping like a rock, he could be number three, number four, anyone ever hear me talking about him again. i like fighting number two. >> he's not number three or number four yet, he is still right behind trump. but he didn't change, he didn't gain any support from this. what do you make of that? >> well, i still think desantis is in a different universe from the rest of the republican

candidates. although i have to say, and -- just opinion on this, i've heard from people in iowa, especially that tim scott has impressed a lot of people. but if you look at desantis's numbers, he's still by far a beloved figure in the republican party. and that's why he's polling so much better in the non trump candidates. you know, kaitlan, the thing that jumped out at me in the polls that both trump and biden were in roughly 30% ferries and 60% unfazed. our polling shows the american people dislike the two most likely options right now a tremendous amount. the american people do not want this, the question i think a lot of people have is are the political parties going to do anything about it? because right now, they're poised to nominate two guys that the american people absolutely despise, at least of you believe are pulling, 30% favorable, 60% on favorable, really bad for both. >> jeff zeleny, scott jennings, sarah matthews, thank you all. up next, reporting on what the justice department decided not to do in the wake of january 6th and the attack on the

capitol that flies in the face of a claim made by the former president and his allies when they say the justice department is out to get him. and relentlessly work with you to make them real. ♪ you founded your kayak company because you love the ocean- not spreadsheets. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire as someone living with type 2 diabetes, i want to keep it real and talk about some risks. with type 2 diabetes you have up to 4 times greater risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. even at your a1c goal, you're still at risk ...which if ignored could bring you here... ...may put you in one of those... ...or even worse. too much? that's the point. get real about your risks and do something about it. talk to your health care provider about ways to lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, or death.

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>> former president trump often

claims that he's been targeted by the justice department, biden justice department, when it comes to prosecution. yeah one comes to one major case, one that he's still facing as of tonight, there is new reporting in the washington post that actually suggests the exact opposite, the headline, fbi resisted opening a probe into trump's role in january 6th for more than a year. according to the post reporting, there were several factors that contributed to the slow pace of opening that investigation, including a wariness about appearing partisan. joining us now cnn national security analyst and the former director of national intelligence, james clapper. director clapper, when you look at this and read this post reporting, do you believe that there was a concern that they would look like they are going after biden's, former, now political opponent when it came to opening up an investigation into him and his allies on january 6th? >> absolutely, kaitlan, i think one man's slow walking is the another man's caution.

and i think that the decisions made here were reasonable and deliberate and careful. and you know, there isn't much of a rulebook that tells you what to do when you're investigating, perhaps prosecuting, a former president for felonies. so, i found when i read the article that the decisions were reasonable and appropriate. i know a couple the players involved here, notably lisa monaco and matt olsen. lisa, -- head of the national security division. two key positions in the department of justice. and they are professional, competent, careful people. and i think that certainly i think the attorney general, whom i don't know, is cut from the same cloth. so, i think this was quite reasonable. >> but what about the consequences of moving slowly? because couldn't communications

have been deleted or lost or people's memories about what led up to that day weren't as great as they would have been had this happen sooner, basically? >> that's possible, sure. and i think it's a question of the risk of some loss versus prudence and care given what a highly charged issue this obviously is. so, that is clearly one thing that could happen. but on the other hand, if there was a rush to judgment, you can bet there would be a similar article about that. >> while i have you here tonight, i want to ask you about what we started with earlier in the show, talking about hunter biden and obviously his plea deal that he got tonight on his tax charges. in 2020, you and 50 other former intelligence officials had signed a public letter warning about the laptop, of course, saying it wreaked of russian interference. you said you had no proof it

was russia, and that you are raising what you said was a yellow flag later on. but you regret signing that letter in the wake of how things have transpired and where things were today, and how republicans in congress are using that letter? >> well, to answer your question, no, i don't regret it. i thought at the time it was appropriate to sound a warning about watch out for the dark and of the russians. and in my case, this is on the heels of what i saw the russians do in 2016 to interfere and influence the outcome of our elections. so, i thought it was appropriate, i thought the letter was appropriately caveat it by acknowledging we did not have any direct evidence. and to this day, i still have not seen any official results of our forensic analysis of that laptop as to whether or not, in some way, the russians messed with it. >> yeah, but we haven't seen

anything saying it was because of them, right? >> that's right. >> all right, director james clapper, of course, your expertise on both of these subjects, thank you so much for that. we'll be right back. caplyta is proven to deliver significant relief across bipolar depression. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. caplyta can help you let in the lyte. ask your doctor about caplyta. find savings and support at caplyta.com.

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